Norse mythology

by Neil Gaiman

Paper Book, 2017

Status

Available

Call number

293/.13

Collection

Publication

New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.

Description

Fiction. Mythology. HTML: Introducing an instant classicâ??master storyteller Neil Gaiman presents a dazzling version of the great Norse myths. Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly reincarnating Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin's son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki, the son of a giant, a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator. From Gaiman's deft and witty prose emerges the gods with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to dupe others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member JBD1
It's not terribly often that I take a book from the mailbox and immediately open it and start reading, but when this one arrived, I did just that. And proceeded to sit on the deck and read clear through it in one go, too. It's a clear, nicely done retelling of the Norse myths, as only Gaiman could
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do it.
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
Neil Gaiman dances on the edge of theology quite often, most notably with his "American Gods". Taking the materials that he salvaged from the "Prose Edda", and the "Poetic Edda", and, to a certain degree from the "Marvel Universe", he has attempted a coherent and entertaining account of the Norse
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pantheon's tales. To some degree, he has succeeded.
There are several caveats I should like to raise. The "Marvel Universe" has a need to sell comic books, and so the general thrust of their publications is the use of "Loki", the God of intelligence, and mental agility as a far more Satanic and Christian Devil figure. In my reading of the earlier translations of the Norse Canon, he is far more of a "Trickster God", a deity like “Coyote” in North American Native fables, or like "Anansi" the Trickster God of West Africa...far more likely to do things out of boredom, than from a plan dedicated to the destruction of "Goodness" and order. Gaiman seems to draw Loki as a deliberate plotter, rather than a "What if?" kind of guy.
Also, telling these myths in a roughly chronological order is not the way in which they were presented to their original audience. Mythic information comes to its hearers on a "Need to Know" basis. The question comes up and then the Skalds provided suitable information from the stories they themselves had heard from other skalds, or sometimes, possessed by the spirit of Loki, they made stuff up. This produces a mythology that, if you have more than one source, you have differing accounts, as parts of one myth are shifted from tale to tale, and new elements are added to existing stories to explain new phenomena, or to provide new stories to suit new circumstance, including political purposes. To move to another cultural matrix, the Greek Travel writer Pausanias, moving from temple to temple in the Hellenic world of the second century AD. heard quite different stories about the same Pagan God, to explain the same questions, differing from one temple to another temple of the same God somewhere else in the Roman Empire.
We need to see the Norse corpus in the same light, because the Christian Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson, author of the "Prose Edda" and the "Poetic Edda", and the “Heimskringla" was looking to transform the Norse theological whirlwind into a coherent theology on the lines of the Christian Theology that had framed his education. When Snorri collected and tried to codify those stories it had been two hundred years since Christianity had been adopted as the Icelandic official religion. It is difficult to believe that the materials Sturlson collected and chose to pass on were unchanged in the two hundred years.
There exists differing materials, found quotes in Sagas not written by Sturluson, but in other Teutonic poetry and tales, like Scandinavian inscriptions, and in the stories of Siegfried, and the other Nibelungs. This body of work is often at odds with Sturluson quotes. Thus, while Stan Lee's world and Sturlson's works are possible versions of what the pre-Christian Scandinavians heard, and possibly tried to live by, they are very likely not, in Christian terms, "Gospel Truth." Lacking a divine Canon of irrefutable truth's given in a clear revelation, the Nordic Myths do not have a bias towards the rigidity found in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic theologies. The Norse, in this case, had a far more Hindu attitude to religious diversity than Saint Augustine, or Saint Dominic. But Gaiman is looking for coherence and a plot line rather than an accurate version to preach from. Thus, we have what is a Neil Gaiman Edda, rather than an exacting collection of Norse myths
It is also a pretty good time for the reader and contains a bang-on version of Thor, the God of Thunder.
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LibraryThing member GeoffHabiger
I just finished this wonderful collection of Norse myths as retold by Neil Gaiman. This is a truly amazing collection of stories about the Norse gods. From Odin and Thor, to Loki, Freya, and all the other gods, this collection covers the broad swath of the Norse mythology from the creation of the
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universe to the end of days, Ragnarok.

If your only experience with the Norse gods has been the reinterpretations of Thor, Loki, and Odin from the Marvel Cinematic Universe then do yourself a favor and pick up this book. These are not Stan Lee's gods of Asgard. Did you know that Sif is married to Thor? Did you know that Hel is the daughter of Loki, or how Loki plays an important role in Ragnarok? All of these legends are brought to life in the amazing way that only Neil Gaiman can do it.

Through Gaiman's retelling of the old legends (he did a lot of research on the stories and blended some of the legends together to make his own interpretations) I learned a lot about the Norse gods. I learned how Loki, trying to save his own skin, caused the greatest treasures of the gods - including Mjolnir - to be created. I learned about the adventures of Thor and Loki, and how Thor created the tides as part of a drinking contest. One of the biggest things I learned - and it really shouldn't have surprised me - was how much the gods of Asgard were really a bunch of a-holes. They really were. They were bullies and thugs on a good day, and generally did whatever they wanted, slew anybody who ticked them off, and generally acted like they owned the place. Which they did, in a sense. But it is a hard juxtaposition when your only frame of reference for the gods of Asgard has been what the MCU has churned out.

I highly recommend this book to anybody with an interest in mythology, old tales, or just a really good story. And I very much recommend that you get it as an audiobook. (I checked the book out from my local library.) Neil Gaiman, as usual, does a wonderful job of narrating the stories he has crafted. I really can't think of actually "reading" a Gaiman story anymore as having him read to me is so much better.
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LibraryThing member john.cooper
In a labor of obvious love, Gaiman takes his favorite Norse tales and retells them, loosely and liberally, in vivid, contemporary language. There's naturally a lot of action, and a lot of humor, including amusing vulgarity. What's missing are the senses of grandeur and tragedy that are important
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parts of any culture's myth cycles and that make them resonate for older and wiser men and women. This lack makes "Norse Mythology" a slighter book than it should have been.
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LibraryThing member jshillingford
I eagerly ordered this book as soon as it was announced. There's been a resurgence in retelling Norse myths (I suspect a certain Marvel villain may have inspired it in part) and I was excited to see a master storyteller like Gaiman tackle the subject.

I thought this book was going to be a novelized
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re-imaging (in the vein of Gospel of Loki), but it is literally a collection of 15 tales based on those passed down through the Eddas. They're expanded a bit, and enlivened with Gaiman's wit, but are fairly close to the originals. There are a few tales I hadn't encountered before, but for the most part these will be familiar to anyone who's read Norse myths before. Loki, Thor and Odin dominate the stories. The tales are fun, if also dark at times.

Overall, though this wasn't what I expected, I enjoyed it. I gave it four stars because it's a short book, and $25.95 is too much for the content. Still, highly recommended. I hope that Gaiman considers doing a "sequel" and imagining his own tales for those gods whose stories didn't get passed down through the Eddas.
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LibraryThing member akblanchard
Neil Gaiman retells the myths of the Norsemen in the aptly titled Norse Mythology. Despite the renowned storyteller's efforts, the tales come out sounding somewhat formulaic as Odin, Thor, and company kill giants and others to acquire superlative items such as the largest cauldron in the Nine
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Worlds or the best mead anyone has ever tasted. The other unexpected thing about these stories is that, unlike the gods of Greek mythology, the Norse gods rarely interact with humans. As Gaiman explains in the introduction, however, our view of Norse mythology is necessarily incomplete because much of it has not survived. "It is, perhaps, as if the only tales of the gods and demigods of Greece and Rome that had survived were of the deeds of Theseus and Hercules," he writes in the introduction (p. 14).

Gaiman clearly loves these stories and tells them with enthusiasm. Even after reading this book, I don't share his excitement about Norse mythology, but I think this is a serviceable collection for those who do.
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LibraryThing member Kellswitch
This is a challenging review for me since I don't believe this book was written with adults in mind...I'm not sure it was written with girls in mind at all, it seems to be aimed at 12-13 year old boys to be honest. Which is not a bad thing,but it does make an impartial review difficult.

Looking at
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it as a book aimed at younger readers, I do feel the author does a great job of making Norse mythology much more approachable, simplifying a mythology most Americans probably don't have much experience with compared to the Greek stories and I did like how the story’s felt connected, how they flowed from the beginning to the end...literally. '

As an adult this book didn't particularly work for me story wise, the writing was far too simplistic and felt a bit too “jokey” for a lack of a better word and there was a lack of mystery or true power of the gods and their magic. There were a few chapters that captured this feeling, the ending one dealing with Ragnarok in particular, but overall I felt let down.

As I said, as a story, I felt let down by this but as an introduction to a not very well understood mythology I feel this was an admiral job and I would recommend this to fans of Neil Gaiman and young readers interested in mythology. Someone looking for deeper stories about the Norse gods can pass on this easily and not miss much.
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LibraryThing member Paul_S
Super fluffy and fun tales of the Norse gods. Rape, murder and disembowelment have never been this cheerful and wholesome. Quite the feat.
LibraryThing member janerawoof
Inspired, fresh retellings of several of the Norse myths for both young and old. Some of the stories were familiar to me, but others were completely new. There were expansions on the Norse creation myth, various interactions among the gods, giants, and elves. The Ragnarok [End-of-the-World as we
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know it] was much expanded from what I have read.

Recommended highly.
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LibraryThing member kinwolf
Well, the title almost says it all. It is indeed stories from the Norse mythology. Some slight variation in them, but you'll recognize them all if you are familiar with the subject. But it felt like this was written by anyone, you could easilly forget the author name is Neil Gaiman on the cover.
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What I mean is that this book really reads like just another retelling of the asgardians stories and it felt like it could have been written by anybody. I did not find any of the magic touch of Neil Gaiman in there. 3 stars as it was nicely written, but there is nothing special in it.
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LibraryThing member kgreply
For those unfamiliar or only hazily familiar with Norse mythology, the beginning is a lot of strange names, but once the tales themselves begin it's easy to keep track of who's who. ( 5 stars)
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A new Neil Gaiman book is always an event. He is one of those authors where I
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can't wait to see what he comes up with next. In this book he looks back at the original Norse myths and retells them for a new audience. All the main players are introduced along with their origin stories.

This is a book to savor slowly letting each story wrap itself around you before moving on to the next one.
Somehow he captures the tradition of story telling that our ancestors must have experienced sitting around the campfire. (5 stars)
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LibraryThing member StephenBarkley
Odin, Thor, and Loki are literally the stuff of legends. Their exploits, recorded by Snorri Sturluson in his Edda have been reinterpreted for English readers by many people—from J. R. R. Tolkien to Stan Lee! Neil Gaiman dove deeply into Norse Mythology to ground his American Gods, so it seems
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fitting that he has offered his own rewritten version of the ancient myths. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman tells the story of the Norse gods from creation to their eschaton: Ragnarok. These are stories of Elves and Giants, of war and betrayal. Gaiman's prose is as rustic and direct, suitable for the gods of a harsh land. It's clear that he's sipped deeply from Odin's gift. One sentence in the introduction has stuck with me. We know relatively little about Norse Mythology and what we do know hints at many more stories. "We have lost so much" (14). Fortunately, in Gaiman's hands, what we do have comes alive a millennium after it was first penned.
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LibraryThing member Birdo82
Neil Gaiman's retelling of these Norse stories certainly has its charm (especially if one listens to the audiobook version and hears Gaiman's alluring voice), and his love the for material shines through, but it's ultimately an easy, breezy read.
LibraryThing member Karlstar
This is a modern, accessible, easy to read version of the Norse mythology. it does not differ substantially from other translations of the Edda's, but Gaiman has mode the gods more personable. It contains most of the major stories from the Eddas, so if you are familiar with Norse mythology already,
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there's nothing new here. He does tend to focus on Loki, as much of the myths do, but he has left out some of the minor stories about other gods in favor of the classics. This was a quick read and enjoyable, but there's really nothing new here.
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LibraryThing member AvengingExile
I enjoy Norse mythology and Neil Gaiman, so I had to pick up this book. It's a collection of tales of the gods of the nine realms told in series of short stories, not unlike how they were probably told around the hearthfire in the days of old. However, I knock my rating down a bit because there
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wasn't anything new here. I've heard these tales before. The main reason I picked up the book was because I love Neil Gaiman, but his unique sense of imagination adds nothing to these stories. Anyone else could have written this book. So, ultimately, I enjoyed the book for the content, but was disappointed in the authorship.
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LibraryThing member alanteder
A Rescue Mission from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

This is a terrific distillation & novelization of the Norse epics "The Prose Edda" & "The Poetic Edda" for those who would like to read the root mythological backgrounds of characters such as Thor, Loki, Odin, Heimdall, Lady Sif, etc. who appear in
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the current stream of Marvel Cinematic Universe films such as the Thor series and by extension the Avengers series.

The personifications & characterizations by the present-day actors are now getting so embedded in our consciousness that it is almost a shock to read that Thor had red-hair or that Loki wasn't his brother or even half-brother (but is Odin's blood brother). There are some contradictions in the Edda chronology as well, being that it is likely from several divergent original anonymous bards and saga poets but Neil Gaiman has smoothed this over well in the inexorable march to Ragnarok.
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LibraryThing member santhony
I’ve read Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Neverwhere, and enjoyed his somewhat original writing style and subject matter, so picked this book up, purely on the basis of my earlier experiences with the writer. In retrospect, that was a mistake.

This book is a VERY short presentation of about
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fifteen Norse tales, some only a few pages long. This entire book could be read in one sitting. The tales are fantastic (not in the sense of being outstanding) and border on the completely silly, even keeping in mind they are pure mythology. While I am sure that Gaiman worked very hard to research and accumulate the contents, there is nothing original here and there is very little to recommend it. If you know anything at all about Norse mythology (Valhallah, Ragnarok, Odin, Thor, Loki, etc.), there will be nothing of substance to add to your pre-exisiting knowledge of the characters. This reeks of a cash grab by the author.
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LibraryThing member seitherin
Dull and uninspired.
LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
Neil Gaiman retells the tales of Norse mythology. In light of modern politics, Loki is the most interesting god. I've been wondering how the evil spokespeople of the GOP lost their humanity. Milo Yiannopoulos, Ann Coulter and Martin Shkreli love causing pain and dissension and seem to court hatred.
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What would make a person act like this? Well, over a thousand years ago there was Loki, who I always thought was just kind of a mischievous joker. However, Gaiman shows this shapeshifter to be a creature who causes not just little inconveniences but actual pain and loss in others for no reason except that he finds their reactions amusing. So, the republican hate mongering personality isn't new, it's a personality type that has been with us for millennia. I guess that means it's not going away and we have to find a way of living with it besides binding these people under a poison dripping snake (which sounds like a good solution to me.)
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LibraryThing member DarthDeverell
In Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman retells the Norse stories about the forming of the world, the creation of Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds, how Odin lost his eye, how the gods got their treasures, Loki's children, Thor's journey to the land of the giants, the death of Balder, Ragnarok, and more.
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Gaiman previously adapted the Norse stories in some of his other works, like American Gods and The Sandman comics, but here he tells the stories in their own setting. Like any storyteller, he's updated the language a bit, except where older vernacular adds weight, and focuses on certain elements over others, but the major points of the stories hold true. Gaiman's update demonstrates why these stories remain relevant and continue to enthrall us. Fans of Thor, Odin, and Loki will find plenty to enjoy and younger readers wanting to know more about the characters they read about in comics or see in movies, much like Gaiman first learned of Thor from Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's stories, will learn to love the original tales from this retelling. Based on his previous work, Gaiman appears to have been working toward this for awhile and he doesn't disappoint.
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LibraryThing member bookczuk
The residents of Asgard captured my imagination and my heart when I first learned about them back in the fourth grade. Neil Gaiman did the same, though three decades later. Now two of my loves have come to visit, together.

Still love the Norse Myths; still love Gaiman. Read in story snippets rather
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than straight through. There's a story arc created by Gaiman, but each still stands alone, kinda like the gods: together but individual.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
As a young boy I revelled in Roger Lancelyn Green’s reworking of old legends, and remember reading and rereading his collection, Tales of the Norsemen, which introduced me to Odin, Thor, Loki and the rest of the Norse gods. So, it seems, did Neil Gaiman, and he pays tribute to Green’s books,
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and also to Kevin Crosseley-Holland’s more modern recounting of the stories in the foreword to his own retelling. He brings the stories to life, rendering the stories accessible without compromising the nature of the originals.

I imagine that the Norse myths must provide a wealth of study material for the anthropologist. There is a lack of cohesion in the form behind the stories. There are many times when the Norse gods seem almost human. Early on, Odin is so desperate to drink from Mimr’s well, recognised as a source of wisdom and foresight, that he is prepared to sacrifice one of his eyes. Zeus or Apollo could have generated a hundred new eyes at the drop of a hat if they had so wished, but Odin was condemned to remaining one-eyed from then onwards. At other times, however, the gods seem capable of changing form and size.

Loki, steeped in mischief and mindless evil, has to borrow the goddess Freya’s falcon suit in order to fly, but in the same incident can suddenly turn another character into a hazelnut. Tyr, god of war, loses his sword hand while trying to subdue Fenris, the monstrous wolf, and is left to fight left-handed thereafter.

Gaiman writes these compelling stories in a simple, straightforward manner, bringing out their charm and an essential humour – there is, after all, a boyish camaraderie between Thor and Loki … at least, when Thor isn’t threatening to kill Loki. Gaiman also reflects, however, the grim side to the myths which resonate with the underlying tragedy of existence. Everything the gods do is set against their awareness of the approach of Ragnarok, the final battle between the gods and the giants, which would mark the end of the world. The gods knew that, like mortal men, they too might be doomed, and passed their time in Asgard knowing that their time was gradually, relentlessly, ticking away.

This is an excellent introduction for anyone yet to discover the Norse myths, and an enjoyable reworking for any old hands such as myself.
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LibraryThing member ivan.frade
In many books I have bumped into references to "traditional" mythologies, so i have wanted to read more about it for some time. Still, the original materials are usually difficult in language and style, with many detours and complexity that put me off.

This Norse mythology was what I wanted to read:
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a selection of the mythological stories, told in a modern easy and understandable style. Gaiman is a great storyteller (on whatever he writes) and here does a great job, creating an engaging well-rounded read.
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LibraryThing member MickyFine
As one would expect of Gaiman, his collection of Norse myths are dark, beautiful, funny, and often filled with a lurking sense of doom. He very clearly defines the Norse gods, particularly Odin, Thor, and Loki (the last often left me giggling with his antics and sass) and recounts the myth with his
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typical lovely prose. While I admit to limited exposure to these myths and thus can't compare Gaiman's interpretation with other translations or collections, I can say he creates a fantastic read out of the source material.
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LibraryThing member phoenixcomet
I quite enjoyed this version of Norse Mythology. Neil Gaiman relates stories from legend about the Norse gods and the coming of Ragnarok - the end of all days. Stories feature Odin, the Wanderer, All Father, Thor and his hammer and the trickster Loki as well as other characters from legend such as
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Loki's children and the frost giants. Quick, fun read.
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Awards

Audie Award (Finalist — 2018)
Locus Award (Finalist — Collection — 2018)
British Fantasy Award (Nominee — Collection — 2018)

Language

Original publication date

2017-02-07

ISBN

9780393609097

Other editions

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